Seal-lock



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L'. MASON. SEAL LOCK.

. No. 361m,43`4. lPatentedApr. 19, l1887.

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AUNITED STATES `PATENT OFFICE.

LEWELLYN MAsON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS. A

SEAL-LOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 361,434, dated April19, 1887.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LEWELLYN MAsoN, residing at Chicago, in the countyof Cook and State of Illinois, and a citizen of the United- States, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Seal-Locks, of which thefollowing'is a full description, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation showing the seal inplace and the shackle locked; Fig. 2, a front elevation showing theshackle and seal-plate raised for the' insertion of the seal; Fig. 3, asectional elevation through the back ofthe lock when locked; Fig. 4, anelevation with the front plate partly broken away, showing the seal andthe parts in their locked position; Fig. 5, a sectional elevation online .fr x of Fig. 3, withthe back plate in place; Fig. 6, a detailshowing the hinge of the sealplate and shackle; Fig. 7, a detail, beinga crosssection of the lock, showing the manner of withdrawing the boltto release the shackle; Fig. 8, an end elevation with the shackle andseal-plate removed. Fig. 9 is a cross-section of thelock, showing amodilication in the mechanism for withdrawing the bolt. v This inventionrelates to seal-locks for cars, safes, packing-trunks, and otherreceptacles which are to be sealed to guard against being opened whilein transit or otherwise, and has for its objects to construct aseal-lock which can be applied to a receptacle to be sealed as readilyand quickly as an ordinary padlock, and which cannot be unlocked untilthe seal which it carries-has been broken; to improve the device bywhich the seal is locked or held in place after being inserted; toimprove the construction and operation of the devices by which theshackle islocked, and to improve the construction and operation of thelockV as a whole; and its nature consists in the several parts andcombination of parts hereinafter described, and pointed out in theclaims as new.

In the drawings, A represents the front plate, made of brass or othersuitable material, and, as shown, formed of a circular portion'with aneck or extension'on one side and having openings a a', divided by across-bar, a", through which openings the marks on the seal can beobserved.

B is the b ack plate, similar in shape to the Application filed Augustl0, 1886. Serial No. 210,531. (Model.)

front plate, A, and made of brass or other suitable material and havingaround its sides and ends a flange, b, to form a chamber for thereception of the releasing devices of the bolt.

C is a cap extending from flange to flange b and tilling the spacebetween the anges, but leavinga slot, c, for the passage of the seal anda hole or opening, c', for the passage of the hooked end of the shackle.This cap C can be cast or formed with the back plate, B, and

its ange b, and, as shown, studs or rivets b project out from the backplate, B, adjacent to the flange b, and above such flange, a sufficientdistance to pass through the plate A and have their ends riveted orupset to attach t-he plate A in position. y

Dis a seal-plate for retaining the seal in place when inserted. Thisplate D, at one end, has a hole, d, for the passage of the hooked endofthe shackle, and its other end is provided with ears d', for hingingor pivoting the plate D to the plates AB, which plates, in theconstruction shown, each haveV at the Corner where the ears d arelocated semicircular recesses, as shown in Fig. 6, to form a smoothfinish for the exterior of the lock..

Eis the shackle, one end of which is pivotally connected Ato the flangeb by the pin or pivot d, which also attaches the seal-plate D inposition, the end ofthe shackle lying in the slot therefor in the flangeb, and the sealplate D being also slotted to receive the shackle andallow said shackle and seal-plate to be opened and closed. This shackleE, at its free end, has atongue, e, with a notch or recess, e', toengage the bolt when the shackle is closed. The shackle Fraud seal-plateD are securely held or fastened at their pivot end by riveting down theends of the pin d, or in any other suitable manner.

F is a bolt located in the chamber or recess F in the neck or extensionof the case between the'cap C and the Wall F, as shown in Fig. 3, andthe bolt is thrown forward by a spring, j', located in recess F, betweenthe end of the bolt and the end wall of the recess, as also shown inFig. 3. The spring f is sufficiently strong to hold the bolt inengagement with the shackle E and resist the throwing back of the boltby a blow on the exterior of the case IOO end has a catch, f', to engagewith the notch or recess c of the shackle E when the shackle is closed,as shown in Fig. 3, and the under face ofthe bolt F is provided with arecess, f, to receive the end of the unlocking or releasing arm orlever.

G is the unlocking-arm, pivoted at or near its center and having an end,g, to enter the recess f, to operate the bolt F. The other end, y',engages with a sliding bar, by means ol" which the arm G is turned onits pivot g, and this arm G is located ou the rear face of the frame orsupport by which it is held, and its end g is, in the forni ofconstruction shown, turned so as to pass under the wall F and enter therecessfl in bolt F.

H is a sliding bar having a notch h to reeeive the end f/ of the arm G,and having one end, 71, turned to pass around the edge of the frame orsupport which carries the arm G and bar H, and its end zy is turned tohave an end, h, to lie between the plate A and the frame or support forthe sliding bar, as shown in Fig. 7. The sliding bar H is located tohave the end h thereof in line with the opening a in the arrangementshown, so that when the seal is broken a properinstrument can beinserted beneath the plate A at the opening a to engage the end h andforce the slide back to turn the arm G and withdraw the bolt F, as shownin Fig. 7. If desired, the end h of the bar H may be extended across theopening a and have a notch, li, as shown in Fig. 9, to receive the endof a suitable instrument for forcing the sliding bar back.

I is the frame or support for the arm G and bar H. This support has agroove or recess, I', in which is located the arm G, and a crossgrooveto receive the slide H. This support I has an extension, i', whichextends over the end g ofthe arm G and the bolt F, as shown in Figs. etand 5, and the support is locked to the back plate, B, by suitablescrews, i', passing through the support and entering the plate B, asshown in Fig. 3, or in some other suitable manner that will secure thesupport I in position.

J is a plate located between walls j on the front side of the support I,and serves as a support for the seal K, the lower edge of said sealresting upon the upper edge thereof, as seen in Fig. 5.

K is the seal, formed of a. piece of glass or other transparentmaterial, with a backing of paper or otherwise, having thereon lettersor figures to indicate the party using the seal and the number of theseal. rlhis seal, when in place, lies between the walls j of the supportI, with its lower end resting on the edge of plate J, and it isinsertedin place by being pushed through the slot c of the cap C whenthe seal-plate D and shackle E are raised, as shown in Fig. 2.

The parts are assembled by dropping the bolt F into its recess F andinserting the spring f between the end of the bolt and the end wall ofthe recess. The slide H is dropped into its groove in the support I, andthe bar or lever G is placed into position on its pivot g, with its endg in the notch h of the bar H. The support I is placed in position onthe plate B, with the end g" of the arm G entering the recess f of boltF, and the support is then secured firmly in place by the screws i', orin some other suitable manner, which holds the sliding bar H and arm Gin place. Theplate A is slipped onto the pins b and secured in place byriveting or striking down the ends of the pins. The ears d of theseal-plate D are placed in the recesses therefor on the plates A B, andthe shackle is placed in position so that the pin d can be pushedthrough the ears d of the seal-plate and the end ofthe shackle and haveits end riveted or struck down to hinge the seal-plate D and shackle Ein place on the lock.

After the parts are assembled, the lock is made ready for use byinserting the seal K through the slot c when the shackle and sealplateare raised, as shown in Fig. 2, and in use the seal-plate D is droppeddown to lie on top of the cap C over the slot c, and theshaekle E ispassed through the staple which receives it, and the end e is forcedthrough the opening d in the sealplate D and the opening c in the cap Cuntil the notch e is caught by the catch f of the bolt F, which holdsthe shackle against withdrawal until the bolt F is receded, and the sameis allowed to yield for the passage ofthe end e of the shackle by thespring f, which spring, when the bolt is engaged with the shackle,maintains the engagement until the bolt is forced back, which can onlybe done by breaking the seal K. Vhen the seal is broken, a tool, L,formed of a piece of wire or other material and adapted to have its endpass between the plate A and support I, is used to move the bolt. Theend of the tool Il is forced against the end 7i to carry the sliding barH in the direction to force the end h away from the support I, and thismovement of the slide carries with it the end g of the arm G, causingthe end g of the arm to withdraw the bolt F and disengage the catch ffrom the notch c', so that the shackle E and seal-plate D can be raised.The broken seal can be withdrawn through the slot c when the seal-plateD and shackle E have been raised, and a new seal inserted for the nextuse of the lock.

As shown, an eye orloop, M, is provided to receive a chain for attachingthe lock to the ear or other receptacle with which it is to be used.

Vhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. In combination with a shackle, E, and a locking-bolt, F, the arm Gand a slide for withdrawing the bolt from engagement, substantially asspecified.

2. The plate A, having a sightopening, plate B, with flange b, cap C,with slot c and IOO IIO

. opening c', seal-.plate D, and shackle E, in con1 and serving tosupport said seal, substantially as described.

5. The plate A, having a sightopening, plate B, with flange b, cap C,withslot c and opening c, sea1-plate D, and shackle E, in combinationwith the bolt F, arm G, slide H, support I, plate J, and seal K,substantially as 2:1 and for the purposes speoied.

LEWELLYN MASON.

Witnesses:

HARRY T. J oNEs, ALBERT H. ADAMS.

